Nolan Williams, Jr.
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Nolan Williams, Jr.

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"5th Year as Music Director for Kennedy Center"

Rev. Nolan Williams, Jr.
in 5th year as Music Director
for Annual Kennedy Center/Georgetown University
Tribute to Martin Luther King

The Kennedy Center
and
Georgetown University
present
Denyce Graves,
Nuttin' But Stringz
and
The Let Freedom Ring Choir
With Rev. Nolan Williams, Jr., Music Director
in a Musical Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Monday, January 21, 2008, 6 p.m. in the Concert Hall

The Millennium Stage is sponsored by Target and the Fannie Mae .


The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Georgetown University celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a free musical tribute on Monday, January 21, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. The program, part of the free daily performance series on the Millennium Stage, features acclaimed mezzo soprano and Washington, D.C. native Denyce Graves, hip hop violin duo Nuttin' But Stringz, the Let Freedom Ring Choir, with Music Director, Rev. Nolan Williams, Jr. Tony Perkins from WTTG's Fox 5 Morning News, hosts as Master of Ceremonies.

Recognized worldwide as one of today's most exciting vocal stars, Denyce Graves continues to gather unparalleled popular and critical acclaim. Her signature roles in Carmen and Samson et Dalila have brought Ms. Graves to such opera companies as the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, Royal Opera - Covent Garden, San Francisco Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Lyric Opera
of Chicago, The Washington National Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opernhaus Zürich, Teatro Real in Madrid, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, and more. Denyce Graves has worked with leading symphony orchestras and conductors throughout the world in a wide range of repertoire. She has participated in numerous other benefit concerts, and RCA Records released a recording of patriotic songs by Denyce Graves. In 2003 she was appointed as a Cultural Ambassador for the United States, and she now travels around the world under the auspices of the State Department appearing in good-will missions of musical performances, lectures, and seminars.

Brothers Damien and Tourie Escobar, known as Nuttin' But Stringz, blend classical music, jazz, R&B, and hip hop. The violin duo studied at The Juilliard School and Bloomingdale School of Music. They have performed at the world famous Apollo Theater, and on the television programs The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Ellen. Their debut CD is titled Struggle from the Subway to the Charts.

Rev. Nolan Williams, Jr. has been tapped for his fifth year as music director for this annual event. The Orchestra and the "Let Freedom Ring" Choir, comprised of both Georgetown University students, faculty, staff and members of the Washington DC community, will be directed by Williams. Rev. Williams is the Chief Music Editor of the African American Heritage Hymnal and Minister of Music at the historic Metropolitan Baptist Church in Washington, DC. The Founder and CEO of NEWorks, LLC, a music ministry consulting, production and publishing company (www.newinspiration.us), Williams has emerged as a significant presence in the music industry. William' work with this annual event has also featured industry artists including: Brian McKnight, Yolanda Adams, Nuttin' But Stringz, Janice Chandler Eteme, and Aaron Neville. Williams has also received two commissions from Georgetown University for these annual celebrations:

"We Shall Overcome [Someday]"- 2006 - in dedication to the legacy of Civil Rights pioneer, Mrs. Rosa Parks. "We Shall Overcome" was a staple freedom song from the Civil Rights era, adapted from Charles Tindley's hymn tune "I'll Overcome Someday." This commissioned arrangement, set with full orchestration, also features a reference to the freedom song, "Oh Freedom," a favorite of Mrs. Parks.

"Acha Uhuru Utawale (Let Freedom Ring)" - 2007 - in dedication to the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS, and presented to the First Ladies of Zambia, Rwaanda, and Ethiopia for their efforts against HIV and AIDS. The Kiswahili phrase is literally translated as "let the freedom rule." The text of the verses was adapted from Dr. King's speech,
"I Have a Dream."

Both commissioned pieces are available through NEWorks music publishing division, NEW-J Publishing.

Georgetown University honors the memory and mission of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with the annual "Legacy of a Dream" award and the "Legacy of a Dream" scholarship. With the 2008 John Thompson Legacy of a Dream Award, Georgetown University is proud to honor Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, now in her ninth term as the Congresswoman for the District of Columbia. Named by President Jimmy Carter as the first woman to chair the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, she came to Congress as a national figure who had been a civil rights and feminist leader, tenured professor of law, and named one of the 100 most important American women and one of the most powerful women in - NEWorks


"Nolan Williams, Jr./NEWorks Productions Lands Music on BET's "Exalted!""


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 10/28/07

Washington, DC---Chief Musician
Nolan Williams, Jr. has been tapped to produce music for BET's new "spirit-hit" show "EXALTED!"

Williams, whose extensive industry work and debut CD -- "inSpiration" -- have established him as a gifted songwriter, musician and producer, is one of a select core of musicians tapped to contribute songs for the show's soundtrack.

"EXALTED!" focuses on the lives and ministries of some of the major preachers of our times. The new weekly series explores the path that has led to the success of our country's premiere African American ministers.

Williams' writing and production partners for the "EXALTED!" series include artist/producer JOHN STODDART ("Wings to Walk This Road," Warner Bros.) and writer/producer WARREN JONES (who has also worked with recording artists Gideon Band and Isaiah Thomas).

"I am thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute musically to this important work," says Williams. "EXALTED! is a well-conceived show that provides such an insightful look at some of today's premiere preachers."

For Williams, production credit on this new BET show is yet another plateau in a standout career. Williams is Chief Music Editor of the landmark best-selling publication, The African American Heritage Hymnal, with sales now surpassing 300,000 copies sold worldwide. In addition, he has worked with mainstream industry artists, including Diana Ross, Michael MacDonald, Erykah Badu, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Anthony Hamilton, Denyce Graves and Dionne Warwick; and gospel recording artists: Yolanda Adams, Kim Burrell, Lamar Campbell, Daryl Coley, Tramaine Hawkins, Donald Lawrence, Donnie McClurkin and Dorothy Norwood. His work also includes songwriting credits with R&B artist Regina Belle and Gospel Legend Richard Smallwood.

"EXALTED!" reflects the effort of BET to launch programming that reaches out to the African American church community," according to Adriane Hopper, co-executive producer. "This show has been an incredible project for the Strange Fruit Films family to produce."

Hopper, along with Strange Fruit Films executive producers D'Angela Steed and Nia Hill created the show.

Don't miss "EXALTED!" on Tuesday, October 30, at 9:00 p.m., or Sunday, November 4 at 12 noon and 9:00 p.m. The show will feature Bishop Charles E. Blake of West Angeles Church of God in Christ, along with NEWorks from Nolan, John and Warren! - NEWorks


Discography

inSpiration

Photos

Bio

The Reverend Nolan Williams, Jr. is a celebrated songwriter, musician, musicologist and theologian who has appeared in a wide range of venues throughout the United States, as well as overseas in the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Taiwan, and Denmark. His professional development is distinct in that he is both a classically trained musician and a learned biblical scholar. The synergy of these two paths has empowered him as a Minister of Music, in the truest sense. It has also birthed an amazingly broad career that finds Rev. Nolan equally at home in a local church setting, on the lecture circuit or in major concert halls.

The Founder and CEO of NEWorks, LLC, a music ministry consulting, production and publishing company, Reverend Nolan Williams, Jr. has emerged as a significant presence in the music industry, as evidenced in the following career and production highlights:

--- Released his first CD project, inSpiration, featuring R&B Sensation Regina Belle, American Idol finalist Anwar Robinson, John Stoddart (co-producer), Vanessa Williams and a host of others. This project has already received regional acclaim and is slated for national release in 2008. (www.newinspiration.us)

----Work with mainstream industry artists, including Diana Ross, Michael MacDonald, Erykah Badu, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, Anthony Hamilton, Denyce Graves and Dionne Warwick.

----Musical collaborations with major gospel recording artists, including Yolanda Adams, Kim Burrell, Lamar Campbell, Daryl Coley, Tramaine Hawkins, Donald Lawrence and Donnie McClurkin

----Songwriting credits on Grammy-nominated projects with R&B artist Regina Belle and Gospel Legend Richard Smallwood.

----Tapped as a contributing music producer for BET's "spirit-hit" show, "EXALTED!"

----Producer of quality inspirational-arts programming for the greater Metropolitan community, including collaborative performances with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Smithsonian Institute, the Arts and Humanities Council of Washington, and the Dallas-based Black Academy of Arts and Letters.

----Chief Music Editor of the landmark best-selling publication, The African American Heritage Hymnal (GIA, 2001), which has received critical acclaim prompting sells that have now surpassed 300,000 books sold worldwide.